Cooperative structures from Cohort Days

Three Step Interview

Purpose: To engage students in conversation for the purpose of analyzing and synthesizing new information.
Description: The Three Step Interview is a cooperative structure that helps students personalize their learning and listen to and appreciate the ideas and thinking of others. Active listening and paraphrasing by the interviewer develops understanding and empathy for the thinking of the interviewee.
Procedure:
1. Students work in pairs. One is the interviewer, the other is the interviewee. The interviewer listens actively to the comments and thoughts of the interviewee, paraphrasing key points and significant details.
2. Student pairs reverse roles, repeating the interview process.
3. Each pair then joins another pair to form groups of four. Students introduce their pair partner and share what the partner had to say about the topic at hand
http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pages/4773

Four Corners

Teacher announces a topic and gives students a choice of four alternative. Students then form groups in the four corners of the room and share reasons for their choice with a partner in theri corner. Students realize they can be accepted while making choices that are different from their classmates.
Steps:
1) Teacher annonces corners
2) Students think and write
3) Students go to corners
4) Pairs discuss
Another description:This structure is designed to allow participants to get to know themselves and each other better. It can be used as a content-related classbuilder or used after a lesson as a review. The steps are:
a. The facilitator announces the corners . . . which state they would like to visit . . . whatever.
b. Participants think about their choices.
c. They write down their choices on a piece of paper.
d. They go to the corner of their choice.
e. They talk with others in the corner about why they chose it.
f. A spokesperson from the corner shares with the whole group why they chose it.
g. After hearing all of the reasons, participants can then change corners.
h. Participants return to their tables and review their reasons.
More: http://www.cooperativelearning365.com/2012/01/four-corners.html

Trading Cards

Line ups

The teacher announces a dimension on which students may vary. The dimension may be a characteristic or a value. Students then line up according to where they stand relative to their classmates on the characteristic or issue.
Steps:

1) Teacher describes the line.
2) Students line up.
3) Fold the line so that the individual on the very end of the line is facing the person at the opposite end.
4) Pairs discuss.
Tips: One variation of this exercise is to give students slips of paper or index cards with one part of a process written on it and have students arrange themselves so that the overall process is in correct order.

Mix Freeze Group

Conga Line and Inside/Outside Circle

During inside-outside circle1, students either sit or stand facing each other in two concentric circles. Students respond to teacher questions or note-card prompted questions and then rotate to the next partner. In the end of this type of structure, students will have both been teachers and learners of new information. This structure also facilitates peer tutoring and checking for different levels of knowledge acquisition.

http://eworkshop.on.ca/edu/pdf/Mod36_coop_inside-outside.pdf
http://oame.on.ca/lmstips/files/TIPSForTeachers/13InsideOutsideCircle.pdf
http://www.carla.umn.edu/articulation/polia/pdf_files/insideoutsidecircles.pdf